Sciontec’s Central Tech half full as doors open
Seven companies have signed for 9,000 sq ft at the Copperas Hill building in Liverpool, which has opened today.
Sciontec, the development arm behind Knowledge Quarter Liverpool, acquired Central Tech in March from the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University.
Previously billed as Sensor City, the £15m development was completed in 2017 by Kier Construction.
The ground floor will host an 820 sq ft electronics lab and workspace for the engineering firm DefProc. Sciontec’s team will accompany the early-stage product developer, taking up 600 sq ft alongside it.
First floor tenants include innovation investment consultancy LYVA Labs, which is relocating its headquarters to a 750 sq ft area in the building.
Harker, an AI-enabled platform for social impact research, will join software developer Jamescape across two first floor spaces.
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Laboratory hardware and software designer Labman is set to take an all-inclusive space on the second floor.
Just above on the third floor is Bellrock Group’s Concerto, the developer of an IWMS property asset management system, which is set for 2,600 sq ft in an office that provides breakout spaces, a kitchen, and a private terrace overlooking the Knowledge Quarter.
Concerto’s chief technology officer, Adam Smith, said the office “won’t just be a workspace”, but rather “a showcase for what intelligent buildings can offer owner-occupiers”.
The Royal Academy of Engineering is also launching Enterprise Hub Liverpool, which will provide funding, training, and networking opportunities for engineers, at the Central Tech site.
Central Tech, which boasts 15,000 sq ft of lettable space within the 27,000 sq ft building, also offers a communal roof terrace, an events space, breakout areas, and kitchenettes.
Inside the Central Tech building, businesses will benefit from strong connectivity and innovation-focused design. Credit: Sciontec
Colin Sinclair, chief executive of Knowledge Quarter Liverpool and Sciontec, said: “We are delighted to be launching Central Tech, on Liverpool John Moores University’s Student Life Campus, adding more innovation space to Sciontec’s thriving portfolio of science and tech buildings.
“Demand for Central Tech has already been unprecedented, showing that the Liverpool City Region is riding a wave of innovation.”
He added: “The building perfectly complements Liverpool Science Park and Sciontec AI at The Spine, and is further growing our community of start-ups, spin outs, and SMEs.”
Leanne Katsande, head of commercial, Sciontec, said Central Tech has “created a real buzz” and that Sciontec has been “inundated with enquiries” for floorspace in the weeks before its opening.
She said: “Central Tech’s location, adjacent to the city’s main railway stations and within KQ Liverpool innovation district, combined with our Sciontec AI all-inclusive packages on the first three floors, and ultrafast internet connectivity through LCR Connect, means it’s an easy choice for a lot of innovation-led organisations.”
“Thankfully, we’ve been able to move quickly with a number of enquiries and have pre-let more than 50% of the building already,” she continued.
Katsande added Sciontec remains “firmly in discussions with several other interested parties” and will continue to court prospective tenants.
Central Tech cost around £15m to construct. Credit: Sciontec
Brilliant news, as this building was in danger of becoming a white elephant. Would be interesting to know the rental levels.
By Anonymous
This is good news but we need a whole lot more generally to entice businesses into the city.
It certainly doesn’t help that we have no grade A office builds, up and running or even on site, and we’ve missed out completely on the latest announcement about civil service relocations which, once again, are awarded mainly to Manchester.
By Anonymous